Batgirl Beyond: The Red Night
by AnimeKitty1896
Summary: Lexi McGinnis' life as a teen heiress is pretty uneventful. There's Calculus, Movie Premieres, Charity Galas, Secret Boyfriend, Geography... and vigilante work as the new Batgirl of Neo Gotham. But when a psycho psychic maniac starts attacking Gotham, and the pressure of being a hero piling on our heroine, will she rise to the challenge of the Red Night, or will Batgirl fade away?
1. Chapter 1

The Red Night

Chapter 1: Bloodbath by Roses

Alexis inhaled a lungful of air and released it slowly, assessing her challenge. Four, maybe three flips? She'd make it in two. She was certain.

With a flawless start, Lexi began her routine, vaulting from the mat into the air and landing on the beam with natural grace. In fluid motion, she flipped once, twice on the narrow surface, before catapulting into the Karcovsky Spiral. With her flawless formulated landing she could easily see success.

Until, the gym doors burst open and a voice shouted. "Batgirl!"

Losing focus, Lexi lost her momentum and landed on her knees. "Angie!" she hissed.

The perky brunette frowned. "Ow, that looks like a nasty break Lexi. May need ice..." With that brisk dismissal, Angie Quinn waved her tablet at their small group of assembled friends. "Batgirl's in the Roland Report! Check it out!"

Groaning, Lexi pulled herself off the mat and limped to the bench, wincing as her knee throbbed with every movement. "Stupid Bat-fanatics..."

"Yeah," replied a voice. "-but they're our Bat-fanatics." Caden Young knelt before his girlfriend and inspected her reddening knee cap. "That's looks like a bad sprain."

"Feels like it too." Lexi winced as Caden pressed a wet cloth to her skin. "Ah, not too much pressure..."

"Okay, let's wrap this up and I'll take you to Rhino's for a sundae. Extra whip cream?"

Lexi eyed his handsome face coyly. "You just like watching me stuff myself silly with food."

He laughed. "Guilty. C'mon, I'll round up the Bat-fans while you shower."

As Lexi limped away she watched Caden stride over to the fawning group of Bat-fanatics.

It seemed Bat-fever had struck Neo Gotham's youth in the past six months and wasn't leaving anytime soon. With the sudden emergence of a Batgirl, it was understandable. After several decades without one, sudden she was there: the Dark Girl Knight. The spunky, shadowy, defender of Gotham in metaphorical pink. A teenaged female vigilante allied with the legendary Great Detective.

And Alexis McGinnis was she.

Stripping out of her sweaty gym clothes, Lexi stepped under the warm spray of the shower, sighing as it coursed over her aching muscles. After five minutes under the spray, she stepped out and toweled off, dressing in a regular clothes- a black mid-thigh skirt with blue accents and a blue long-sleeved off-the-shoulders top.

Her black biker boots completed the look and she smiled approvingly in the full-length mirror of the locker room. Wrapping some sports tape around her knee, she gathered her gym bag and exited the showers, passing the girls' volleyball team on the way.

"Ready?" she asked her friends.

"Ready." replied Fredericka "Ricky" Cortez, eyes stilled glued to the tablet screen.

Halfway to Rhino's, Lexi caved. "Okay, I'll bite. What's new with the Bat-clan?"

"Batgirl is speculated to be that popular teen model Shannon Kyle. Sources say at every appearance, she's never around. And Kyle is so mysterious and beautiful... And passionate about justice. She's studying to be a lawyer, they say. That's why she models." Jared reported.

"As if; Shannon Kyle is a pretty face! Batgirl can fly through the air and take down an army of Jokerz." Angie argued. "I bet she's never even fought for a movie role..."

"She could be, you know, hiding her true talent!" Harrison "Harry" O'Neil rebutted. "She studies under Rashama."

"Oh yeah, yoga is really helpful against crime. Just last week, I took down four T's with the Downward Dog pose." sneered Julie Rogan.

"Well, she's got the wealth to do it, the motive and the body to be out Batgirl!" Jared argued.

"Hey," joked Lexi. "With that reasoning, my mom and I are top contenders for Batgirl too." She did a cheesy Batman pose. "I am Vengeance."

That got her friends laughing. "Dream on; you don't even like Bat-news." Ricky sighed, calming down.

"But with that logic I could be. So could Stephanie Steele, Maggie Proctor, Joan Lumire, Nadine Hoffman..." Lexi checked off all the socialites who met Harry's description. "Hell, if we cut out the rich part, half the Gotham female population fits."

"True..." Harry nodded her head, long auburn hair moving in front of her face.

"Though I would like to see you in skin-tight leather," Caden raked his gaze down Lexi's frame. "I bet you would give any girl hero a run for her money."

Lexi rose up on her tiptoes and put her lips to Caden's. Breaking apart, she purred. "Maybe..."

"Ugh, get a room you love bugs." Harry snorted. She averted her eyes in mock horror. "I think my eyes are failure from overdose on sultry kisses."

Lexi stuck her tongue at Harry. "Then go find Stephen and get busy."

"W-wha-" Harry turned scarlet at the suggestion. "We're just childhood friends!"

"Sure..." Lexi rolled her eyes.

Just as Lexi was going to delve deeper, a familiar car rolled up to the curb. Her godmother, Maxine Gibson, rolled down the window. "Lexi, you forgot about the ceremony again, didn't you?"

"Ceremony?" parroted her friends.

"Oh, right. The Semi-Annual Ceremony of Achievement at the Bruce Wayne Center. That's tonight, right?" Lexi groaned. "Totally slipped my mind."

Her father, Terrence McGinnis, had opened a center of juvenile delinquents at-risk of being turned over to social services. There, they got counseling, tutoring and could intern at one of the many affiliated companies to find a field they liked. Every six months, Terry honored their achievements- whether academic, personal, or career-wise- with a buffet style casually formal ceremony. Lexi had been volunteering as a tutor and would be presenting the awards for Most Achievement, alongside several other student tutors.

"I figured when you didn't show up for rehearsal..." Max said.

"Thanks, Aunt Max." She started getting into the car. "Raincheck on the sundae, Cade?"

"Bet on it."

"Good luck figure out who Batgirl is, guys. Try not to go 'batty'." Lexi punned.

"See ya, socialite!" called Ricky.

##

The Cyclones were crawling all over the building, making it hard for Greg to get a handle on how many brothers and sisters he now had. After most of his original gang split to join that at-risk program sponsored by Wayne-Powers, he'd joined the Cyclones, a motorcycle gang that was feared as a "pack of demons in the form of teenagers". Bobbi, the leader of the regional gang, lounged on a ratty pile of leather and shredded car interior. Her heavy booted feet rested on a quivering Joker.

"Cyclones!" she suddenly yelled, her voice commanding attention. A sharp smile formed on her lips.

The noise level dropped to a whisper in seconds. "We've had..._negotiations_ with the Jokerz in the past, and it seems they've finally come to a head. At least _this_ guy's head."

She sneered at the green haired Joker wannabe under her feet. Bobbi's two centuries, Carlos and Tracks, moved forward to pull the squirming punk to his feet.

"The Prince here is going to be our new _friend_; aren't you, Prince-y?"

Bobbi stood then. Her five-foot-two frame barely reached the Joker's chin, but she had more muscle on her than _three_ of him.

She smiled, an odd look on her sour-looking face. The tattoo of a stylized cyclone on the side of her face looked unused to such a drastic move.

"What do you say we show him some Cyclone hospitality. Boys?"

On cue, Tracks and Carlos shoved him of the heap and he fell sprawled on the ground. One of the Cyclones handed Bobbi a steel pipe.

She swung it like a bat, aiming gleefully for the cowering Joker. All around Cyclones laughed, jeering as he flinched with every feint. The pipe finally stopped an inch before the Joker's face. With the rusted tip under his chin, she tilted his head up, taking in his crying face. "Lovely... Such a shame the honor of the first swing doesn't go to me..."

With a swift kick she had him sliding across the interior of the rundown warehouse. She pointed out into the crowd. "New recruits, come forward."

Greg made himself move forward, stomach uneasy. He wanted to cause trouble. Train hadn't told him there was anything like killing involved.

She handed the pipe to the closest recruit, a scruffy looking girl with threadbare jeans and a worn shirt. "Take the first hit."

"With pleasure..." The girl pulled back high and swung right for the groin. Greg winced in sympathy.

After three more swings, two of which followed the first position, Bobbi stopped her and handed the pipe off to a beefy guy with a nose thick ring and bald head. "I'm more one for bare hands..."

"Then by all means..." Bobbi waved ceremoniously.

The guy delivered four punches to his chest and face. Bloodied nosed and curled up, the captured Joker looked ready for a hospital. Greg swore he heard the decisive cracking of bones.

"Next."

Three more recruits later and Greg was holding the bloody pipe in his shaking hands. The Joker looked ready for the ICU, his eyes swollen shut and clutching a clearly dislocated arm.

"How does it feel?" murmured Bobbi in his ear, her pleased gone sickening him further. "To have all this power, all this strength... Intoxicating isn't it?"

"Y-yeah..." Greg stammered. "I feel r-really powerful."

"One hit now, recruit. Make it count."

She stepped back, motioning for him to swing.

Feeling sick, Greg mouthed an apology even though the unconscious Joker couldn't see it, and wound up for a direct downward swing on his head. He'd heard if you hit the nerves, the victim couldn't feel it. He hoped he was right.

Putting his full force behind the swing, he was jerked to a stop before it connected.

He jerked this way and that as the Cyclones murmured and grumbled.

"Quit bitching around and finish the fucker!" Bobbi growled.

"I can't move the pipe!" He was suddenly shoved back by something. "The hell?!"

The pipe hovered there for a minute, only to clatter to the ground moments later. A soft, tinkling laugh filled the air.

"_I like my roses in rows and rows,_

_Colored blood red I suppose, suppose.._."

A soft, lilting voice sang.

"Who's there?" Demanded Bobbi.

The laugh sounded again. "You looked like you were having fun... I wanted to play..." the voice replied.

"Show yourself!" growled Tracker.

"I'm right here." Out of the shadows stepped a girl is a stark white dress. She was strikingly beautiful, her light brown hair a cloud around her face. She was poetically beautiful, like she belonged on the cover of 'zines, or rubbing noses with powerhouses like Maddox Productions. She was totally out of place in a dingy warehouse surrounded by thugs and possible murderers. She was also out of place in the plain white dress she wore.

She cocked her head to one side and pouted, cupid's bow lips pushing away from her porcelain face. "Are you bullying this poor, weak man?"

"Uh..." Her wide grey eyes stared at Greg.

Bobbi gave a sharp, bitter laugh. "Are you shitting me? Who brought their girlfriend?!" demanded the Cyclone leader.

No one 'fessed up. Greg stepped back from her.

"Girlie, did you step out of a psych ward?"

She gasped and turned to Bobbi. "How did you know?"

Bobbi frowned. "Listen, you bitch. Get gone and stay gone. You have a pretty face, so I like you. But you're two tacos short of a Rhino combo. Get it? If you don't leave, your fair game for my boys."

"Play a game with your boys? But I came for a bath..." she smiled.

A few moments passed before Bobbi wrapped her head around what she said. "Oh really? That's different! Totally different!" She turned to Tracker, feigning excitement. "Tracker, show her the baths! I honestly had no idea!"

"You'll show me?" The girl looked dubiously at Tracker as he came closer.

"Of course! Tracker, here, he's in charge of the baths. He'll take good care of you..."

As Tracker led her to the back of the warehouse, the Cyclones snickered.

##

AK: Okay, I'm retconning my Batgirl stories for this new storyline. It's kind of sacrilegious to have a super-powered Batgirl. R&amp;R


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lovely Shade of Blood

Lexi groaned as flopped back on the couch, kicking off her heels. "How many nachos can one Moose eat?"

"Seven plates; not counting the two he split with Jaws." Dana answered woodenly.

Terry frowned. "It wasn't that bad..."

Both women glared at Terry. "He ate the nachos and the decorative cheese sculpture on the tables!"

"He burped all over my dress!" Dana growled.

"And," Terry interjected. "He stayed drug free for six month, two weeks, and eleven days."

Lexi paused. "Okay, he deserves a little cut loose time... But if he eats another hot dog out of my hand, he's getting a scissor kick to the-"

"Bat-family, good, you're back." Max sauntered in, holding a tablet from the Batcave. "We have what looks like a gang war gone wrong in the Gotham shopping district."

"Perfect; another ceremony..." Lexi rolled her eyes.

"The cycle gang, The Cyclones, are noted for running the area. Tonight there was some sort of initiation going on there- a Joker from Midtown went missing. His gang is terrorizing looking for him." Max reported.

"Any chance we can just let them knock heads for a change?" Lexi asked, earning a scowl from her dad. "Fine... I'll get dressed. I don't think a party dress will go over well in Cyclone territory."

In the Batcave, Lexi slid into her Batgirl suit, a black bionic suit with a violet finish and bat symbol. "Diagnostic sequence?" she demanded.

[Systems Online: Running diagnostic tests. Projected finish: eight-point-three-five seconds]

Seven seconds later, her dad joined her in costume, mask in hand. "Ready?"

"One second... Done." Reading through the systems report on her wrist, Lexi nodded. "Aunt Max got that virus out that was bugging me last week. We're good."

"Remember-"

"No calling you 'Dad', no wheelies on the bike, and no signing autographs." Lexi listed the rules. "I know!"

"Yeah, well- just get the mask on..." Terry pulled his over his face and waited for Lexi to do the same.

##

The scene was a virtual bloodbath. Cyclones were strewn across the warehouse, some piled in a bloody heap of denim and flesh, others looking like extras from a kill scene in a horror movie.

In the middle was a victim Lexi never thought she'd see again. "Oh, Bobbi..."

"You know her?" Terry asked from the building top. They were waiting for the police and ambulance to clear out before they started their own investigation.

"You remember back in sixth grade, that bully that used to pick on me all the time until I finally fought back?"

"Proudest moment for a father, teaching his little girl the Lotus Dragon Roundhouse Kick."

"Right, well that was Bobbi. Roberta Ramirez, or Big Bobbi, as we called her. She was like five-nil last time we tangoed." At Terry's frown, she shrugged. "I saw her beating on her girlfriend behind the bleachers after gym in eighth grade. She was always jealous, always suspicious... A lot of her exes said she can an inferiority complex around guys. Penis envy or something. Bobbi's been diagnosed with chronic and sporadic bursts of anger several times. Always had it. Her parents deny it, say she's just in a phase of some crap...The girl walked away with two cracked ribs and a bloody nose. Bobbi walked away with an expulsion notice and a black eye, courtesy of me."

"I see... Seems like she was running the Cyclones, or at least this branch."

"When she left, the school got better. The girl, Mina or something, started an organization called_Light for Love _to reach out to any victims in high schools of relationship violence. I hear she's dating a female tennis pro-hopeful now." Lexi watched as Bobbi's body was lifted carefully onto a stretcher. Some Cyclones got bodybags. "It scares me that Bobbi could get taken down at all. Even when I faced her, I had two teachers to help me. The only coherent Cyclone said it was one girl. One. In a dress. And she was singing."

"We'll have to be flies on the wall for this interrogation."

A few hours of skulking later, Batgirl found something disturbing. "Batman, your gonna wanna see this." she called not looking away from the discovery.

"Holy... I guess I know where the guts from those Cyclones and that Joker ended up."

On the floor, behind a carefully stacked away of crates, lay a message in small intestines and other organs.

_First saw the toe off, of course, of course _

_Keep her from moving or worse, yes worse_

"Take some pictures and we'll have the Oracle analyze them later." Terry instructed.

"On it..." Lexi replied, feeling funny. After several shots from different angles, she returned to Terry. "Think it was a random assault? A rival gang sending a message?"

"Could be... But the one girl thing... Let's wait till a few of these guys can breathe without major help."

##

**LEXI**

The next day, the school held an assembly to inform the student body that Roberta Ramirez passed on shortly before reaching the hospital last night. Mina Malone, her last ex, called for a moment of silence in the_LfL_bulletin for her.

I felt sort of out of it for a while, and Caden understood, and bought me a plate of loaded fries for my troubles. I'm taking most of it home to the fridge...not feeling too hot about even my favorite food right now.

I took this a bit too personally. I'd been by her house several times in the past three years since her expulsion, with fliers for the Bruce Wayne Center for At-Risk Youth. I'd talked myself blue in the face trying to convince her parents to take a stand to help Bobbi get back in school. I still felt responsible... It hurt. A lot.

After school, I stopped by the flower shop and arranged for flowers for both the funeral and he family with a personal message attached.

We weren't close at any point in life but... The toss of the coin, you know?

Caden walked me home and we were quiet the whole way.

"Thanks, Cade." I said, gripping my leather strap.

Cade shrugged. "You looked like you needed to be alone with you thoughts. Bobbi, she was a big part of your past."

I nodded. "In a way, she taught me that the first person to take a stand for you has usually got to be you. She was a bully of the highest order, and no one was out of range. I feel... weird now that she's gone. I tried to get her to change, but she never wanted to. I hated her guts- with an intense passion that scared me. But now..."

Cade shook his head, white blonde hair catching light. "You did all you could. Only Ramirez could fix Ramirez. You know that."

"I know, but why?" I honestly wanted to know.

##

Her eyes opened slowly, a smile forming on her face. "Such a wonderful dream..." she purred.

"Good morning, Cassidy." a deep rumbling voice greeted.

Instantly, the owner of the voice was hoisted up and thrown across the bedroom. Without the girl even twitching.

"Only the Prince can call me that." she hissed.

"Princess, then." Spoke another voice. "Tell me, was it fun to almost blow our cover?"

"Oodles!" Sighed Cassidy.

"Really? What did you find?"

"some of those Cyclones had a lovely shade of blood."

##

AK: R&amp;R


	3. Chapter 3

Keeping it all Together

Lexi was wired as she navigated the city as Batgirl, ready for anything. The adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her from remembering how she failed Bobbie.

Logically, she knew she hadn't. She tried to bring her in, multiple times Gotham PD had pulled her from the streets for small scale things- pickpocketing, loitering, hijacking a car. But her family would always bail her out, convincing the officers she was a child "acting out", not a wanted criminal endangering herself and others. Bail would be paid, warnings given, and Bobbie would be back on the streets again.

She landed silently on the highest point in Neo Gotham, Lang Towers. A skyscraper in construction when Lexi had been just a kid, it now boasted that made it the third tallest building in North America and more than a dozen assorted businesses on lease. It also served as a great meeting place for herself and her contact.

She barely acknowledged the Martian as she landed nearby. Her father, perturbed by the lack of physical evidence at the scene of the crime, had called for psychic backup. Miss Martian, one of the leaders of the secret force of sidekicks known simply as The Team, and one of Lexi's old babysitters' alter egos.

"Batgirl." Miss Martian spoke first.

"The scene is currently under police guard, pending further investigation. As far as the city knows, Bobbie and the Cyclones were on a drug trip when they were ambushed. Gassed and then attacked by a new rival gang. Police are looking for the gang, searching for clues." Batgirl reported to the Martian. Clinically detached, wired only for action- for the task at hand- Lexi didn't bother with pleasantries. she kept her mind shut. Years of meditation training couldn't keep the powerful psychic out, but the lack of easy access would warn her away. M'gann didn't pry, not unless necessary, and this wasn't necessary.

"Why were we stationed to meet across the city?" M'gann asked.

"If Miss Martian suddenly showed up on the scene, the media would buzz about it." Batgirl explained.

"Still not understanding why."

She sighed. "Okay, the police aren't exactly on board with the outside help plan. In fact, they're against it. Batman's on the scene, so he'll guide you around. But this is where I get off. You'll assume my form and meet up with Batman on the scene. Look around, see if you can find something we're missing. Whoever killed that many people-"

"Should leave a big psychic trail. Got it." M'gann turned her gaze to Batgirl as she transformed. Staring at herself, Lexi could see that her shoulders were tense. A heli-camera whirred by and Batgirl retreated to the shadows leaving only "Batgirl" in her place.

Lexi spoke low from the shadows as she disrobed. "Take my cycle, it'll add to the effect." Notorious for her cycling, Batgirl wouldn't be complete without her beloved Cy-Wing. The media dubbed her a cycling junkie, but in all effects, Lexi just enjoyed the rush.

"Lexi… are you okay?" M'gann mentally probed.

"I'm _fine_, Miss Martian." she stressed. "Just go, skulk around here for a while and then make your way to the warehouse."

"Batgirl" frowned, a strange look for Lexi to see from the other side, but after stealthily retrieving the utility belt and earpiece from the shadows, "Batgirl" departed. Dressed in a dark, icon-less version of her suit, specifically designed to camouflage her, Lexi looked nothing like her alter ego.

Alone, Lexi waited a beat or two before making her way from the top of Lang Towers, under the cover of night.

Once firmly on the ground, Lexi disrobed again, this time into a light green mini dress with wedge heeled dark gray boots. Over her shoulder a matching purse, which held her two discarded costumes.

The walk down main street was uneventful, staid, leaving her mind to wander. She shook her head, trying to clear the last image of Bobbie from her head. "Keep it together, BG." she hissed under her breath.

Her phone vibrated from the confines of her purse. Digging it out, she saw it was a text from Harry.

-**Party at the Shore 2nite. In or Out?**

Just what she needed. A distraction. Replying with an "in", Lexi pocketed her phone and hailed a cab to the Shore. A night free of Batgirl duties, that was what she needed. She called Caden.

Caden answered on the third ring. "_Hey babe, I was thinking about you."_

Lexi forced cheer into her voice. "Good, then how about you be with me too. Party at the Shore?"

"Batman, this is bad…" M'gann said in Batgirl's voice. She held the scanner as if it had the information she had just mentally acquired.

Batman frowned at made his way over to the disguised Martian. The police elite force tracked his movements for a while, but reverted his gaze to staring at the entrance, when Batman delivered a deadly glare.

"What did you find?" Batman asked. "_What is it?"_ he mentally replied.

M'gann shifted the scanner over so he could see the screen. Nothing changed, but M'gann spoke in his mind. "_Sir, the levels of PSI activity here are too low. Almost deathly low."_

"_As if some kind of psychic leech was here?"_ Terry ignored the "Sir" thing. Miss Martian was nearly sixty years old, but her disguise was that of a college age girl. She even attended Star City University.

"_But the psychic residue is too potent. The leaching came afterward. After the attack. A two person front…"_

"Batgirl" began a bogus report. "I found traces of ammonium gyclococolite here and over there. It indicates that someone, likely a female with a heavy perm, fell here and here. The trace amounts are the same, so I think it may be the same person." She gestured to the far end.

"_One attacks, while the other is sent to clean up."_

"_The clean up was recent from what I can tell, and hurried. Some pockets of heavy PSI activity remain. I can tell this was the work of no regular old psychic. The culprit is a near Martian-level psychic. Novice for our kind but deadly by human standards. And whoever it is made a killing game out of it."_

"That's a far distance. Thrown or crawled there?" Batman followed along.

"Most lively thrown." she replied. "But no footprints indicate closer movement. I'm thinking a meta-human, or android with superior strength."

"_Hence the intestinal lyrics."_

"_I think the culprit may be a sociopath or have suffered some kind of mental detachment. One thing I can gather is that the mind is childlike. Almost adolescent."_


	4. Chapter 4

The Shore was a teen club on the east side of Neo Gotham, run by Wesley C. Dile. It was one of the hottest places to be. Her friends loved the place. And as long as they were happy, Lexi could muster up a semblance of happiness too.

However, that happiness was not there tonight. Even as she and her friends seamlessly joined the crush of bodies, she couldn't put her heart into it.

As the dancing teens around her threw up hands and squealed at the mist of seawater that dusted the crowd every hour, Lexi found a booth and slumped into the seat.

She watched her boyfriend and best friends dance. Turning back to the tabletop, she ordered a water, sodas, and some wings for her group. The water was for her.

The booths in the Shore were thoughtfully had noise cancellation, filtering most of the dance floor sounds out until a switch was flipped. Lexi hit it as she confirmed her table number.

After confirming her card, she was loosely grabbed from behind. Tensing somewhat, she relaxed as she recognized she smell of hibiscus and cookies.

It was Julie. "Okay, gurl, spill. What has our favorite socialite in a mental bind?"

Lexi frowned. "Nothing, you know the Shore isn't my scene."

"I know, but-" Julie sauntered around to actually slide into the booth. "-you at least put up a front about it. Call me crazy-"

"You're crazy." Lexi deadpanned.

"But I think Bobbie's death is taking a toll on you, o Sarcastic One."

Julie had been her best friend since elementary school summer camp, where they both chucked Marco DeLyle's shoes into the lake for his applesauce-in-the-sleeping-cots prank. We were like yin-and-yang. She kept Lexi from being a total Samaritan Act, and Lexii kept her from juvie. A natural balance. Other than her identity crisis between the hours of sundown to sunrise, she knew the heiress' habits like a GPS.

Lexi scoffed. "I just can't believe she's gone, is all. You knew her too."

Julie nodded. "I did. And I feel it too. You don't have to suffer alone. The school counsellor..."

"I'm fine, Julie. I'll get over it. I just… I've just had trouble adjusting my mindset." Like how we can't even find the culprit.

"Okay… But even if you don't want to talk to the shrink-"

"And I don't."

"Call me if you need a little talking to. I'm all ears." her best friend offered.

"I'll...think about it."

"I know you, gurl. You keep it all in. You like having secrets. You always think you can save something. If it weren't for the fact I know you're deathly afraid of real bats, I'd swear you were a contender for Batgirl."

Lexi rolled her eyes playfully. "Wow, so much confidence in me." It was true though she had a deathly fear of actual bats, after getting stuck in the bat habitat in third grade thanks to Bobbie. It didn't, however, affect her Batgirl duties. She just couldn't stand bats.

"But if you keep it in too much… I don't wanna lose you to this." Julie sighed.

Lexi frowned. Apparently, keeping it all in would be much harder than just acting like the world was right. She sighed. "Okay, when I'm ready-" When I catch that murderer. "I'll talk."

Julie sighed, knowing that was as much as she would get. "That's all I ask."

* Scene Change*

The cool night air ruffled her brown hair, making her beam as she stared out at the Neo Gotham night. "When will my prince come…" she sighed.

"Princess…"

She frowned. Turning back to the window, she addressed the owner of the voice. "Sir Ronson, to what do I owe this intrusion?"

"You have to come back to the balcony."

She stood above the city, held up by her mind.

"I don't want to." She said this simply, her voice saccharine sweet and calm. She stared down at the city, watching the lights twinkle and gleam. Cars zoomed below on streets, their lights fascinating her. She raised one hand at the shiny blue car that caught her interest the most. Holding it steady, she smiled as other cars careened into the back of it creating a lovely mess.

"Princess, you can't make anymore waves until the time is right."

She barely turned , but used her mind to strangle him. "I'm looking for my Prince. Don't bother me." As the life slowly left the man's body, from the shadows, two men conversed.

"She's...Unstable." the first man accused quietly.

"She's powerful." the second man praised, adjusting his glasses.

"A loose canon."

"She knows her mission. My daughter is more than ready for our next step." The second man glowed with perverse pride.

"But she'll take us all out in the process!" The first man fisted his hair in his hands in nervous agitation. The girl would kill them all. "The Board is conjoining tomorrow for a hearing on whether or not to continue funding for this. I cannot in good faith vouch for her with such...finicky behavior and sporadic bouts of murder."

"Hmm…" the second man hummed.

The first man's frown deepened as he saw the poor lackey expire, eclipsed by the shadow of the girl. His daughter, he thought bitterly, as if he was the only one who worked on creating her. The perfect agent of government security. A psychic so powerful, one complete thought could kill a hummingbird in flight.

She was volatile, delusional, flighty, bipolar, a host of financial and diplomatic problems waiting to occur… Maybe they shouldn't continue the project… Termination was all that would save them now.

As the thought crossed his mind, he felt something constrict his heart. He realized she was glaring at him. "That's not very nice, Mister Brahm. I need to find my Prince. You PROMISED I could find him."

Brahm fell to his knees. Damn the little sociopath…


	5. Chapter 5

That Saturday morning, Lexi woke up early to jog the perimeter of the manor, twice. After a quick water break, in which she greeted- or grunted at- her father, she made her way back inside for the rest of her training regime. She went through the kitchen. Her mom sat at the island, conversing with someone about an error in shipping orders. "..fix it, Drew. You know that Eclair's is our biggest carrier." Her eyes glanced at Lexi's tense form before she murmured, "I'll call you back. Hey, sweetie…Have a good night's rest?"

"I slept." Lexi shrugged. Ever since the death of Bobbie, her mother had been increasingly vigilant about Lexi's moods. In fact, she was more attentive than ever. That wasn't to say she was a flighty mother, but most days it was easier to call her assistant Drew Moore for an update, than it was to try and pop into the prestigious offices of Dana Designs.

Her parents had privately separated, but not divorced, five years ago. Her mother had a large apartment in Upper Gotham, an upscale, private loft that was modern and clean- like a model room rather than a home. She didn't quite know why her parents refused to fully make up, but her dad was trying, and Dana Tan-McGinnis was not buying.

"Want some breakfast? I made eggs and pancakes." Dana tempted.

Lexi shook her head. "I'm not that hungry. I'll eat later." She started to leave, passing Max in the hallway.

"Hey, Lex."

"Max." Lexi replied shortly, heading for the training room.

XXX

Lexi found herself flat on her back in the training room, panting as she tried to catch her breath. "Lexi," Max said from the doorway, forcing the black-haired heiress to turn to her voice. "You've been at it for seven hours. You need to rest."

Lexi forced herself to sit up and reached for the bottle of water by her side. "I... can't… Need… Four more… Reps..." she huffed out.

Willing herself to stand, Lexi started to strap the weights to her hands and feet for more intense kick-boxing.

Her godmother rolled her eyes and stalked in, grabbing the weights and letting them hit the floor. Dragging the unwilling but spent teen out of the training room and into the shower area, she blasted cold water in the girl's face. Lexi shrieked loudly, trying to twist away like a drowning cat.

Finally, Max shut it off and wrapped a towel around Lexi's head before marching her into the sitting area. Sitting her down, she snarled, "Look, Lex. I'm not going to preach at you for playing things close to the chest. Lord knows I can't cast a stone. But you're pushing your limits too hard. You're not Supergirl."

"Well, maybe I wanna be." Lexi spat.

Max frowned deeper. "Lexi, if you need to talk-"

"No. I don't need to talk. I need to train." She made as if to stand up, but a wave of dizziness assailed her.

"Train after you've eaten. You skipped breakfast and lunch for your little training sessions." Max prodded.

"Max-"

"Please." Max cut in. "Just eat something." She rested her hands on Lexi's shoulders.

Sighing, Lexi relented. "Maybe a sandwich and some water?"

"Juice," Max corrected. "You're electrolytes are low and your blood glucose levels must be near zero with all that sweat and energy depletion."

And so Lexi ate in silence as Max looked on, making sure she drank at least two glasses of fruit punch and ate a bag of chips and a hoagie. Finished, Lexi stood ready to go back, only for her vision to get hazy and she stumbled a step.

All at once, she realized the funny taste of the fruit punch wasn't just in her head. She glared at Max, or tried to. "You...drugged me?"

Max looked solemn but unrepentant. "It's for your own good."

Lexi cursed under her breath as she slumped into Max's arms. "You need to rest, Lexi…" was the last thing she heard before sound faded out.

XXX

"You drugged her?!" Dana hissed. "How could you-"

"She hasn't slept in two days, Tan." Max cut in. "She goes to school, comes back, combs the net for more sources on our mystery psycho-psychic and then trains herself to exhaustion, but she hasn't slept in two days."

Terry frowned. "How do you know?"

"I installed backup cameras in the Batcave, in case the others failed. When she cut the feed to the first set, the second set kick in and alert me via phone. She's been pushing herself, McGinnis. And not in the right direction. I thought a forced time-out was in order."

"But to drug her?" Dana fumed.

Max crossed her arms. "It's a mild sedative, which just proves how tired she is. I only did it because she is fighting sleep, something fierce. Her eyes were barely focused when I found her in the training room. And she was going for round three."

Terry sighed. "Thanks Max. I don't quite agree with how you got her to sleep, but thank you."

Dana was silent beside him, and he nudged her with his shoulder. His wife frowned but nodded. "She probably wouldn't have slept any other way. Can you take her off patrol? Just for a few nights."

Terry considered it. "Maybe… Force her to do some down time. Be a teenager for a bit..."

"Chances are she'll keep snooping regardless." Max chimed in.

"She's going to hurt herself…" Dana whispered. "We gotta get her to stop. Make her see this isn't healthy."

The three adults stood in silence around the kitchen island. "You know she won't talk until she's ready." Max frowned. "She's so stubborn. She gets it from you two."

"We know," the couple replied fondly.

XXX

Lexi awoke with a bad taste in her mouth and a gritty feeling in her stomach. "Seriously, she drugged me?"

Up and determined to continue her training, even at two in the morning, she padded to the living room, only to find her father sitting in the armchair.

"Dad?"

"You need to rest, Lexi." Terry said immediately. The gritty feeling intensified.

"I'm rested now…" Lexi pointed out.

"Not that kind of rest." Terry stood, making his way to stand in front of Lexi. "Lexi, Max had to drug you to get you to sleep for twelve hours. You're snarky and prickly, you're vague and monosyllabic. Miss Martian said the waves of guilt were rolling off of you earlier this week. I'm guessing they haven't subsided. You're too strung out for this right now, Lex."

Lexi shook her head. "That's not true. I'm perfectly capable of-"

"Alexis." Terry said firmly. "You can't lie to me. You're too close to this. I think some distance would be good for you, your mom and Max agree. Step away from this for a while, and we'll see if in a week, you can act responsibly."

"This isn't fair- I'm focused!"

Terry snapped. "This isn't about what's fair, Alexis! This is about you pushing yourself too far in the wrong direction. Take some time away from the suit to cool off."

Wide eyed, Lexi stood there as her father stalked off. "I know what you're feeling, Lexi… And it isn't healthy." He said over his shoulder at her.

"No, you don't understand… This feeling…" Lexi said in the quiet of the night. This distance... The gritty feeling in her stomach grew bigger. The doubt in her head slowing edging closer... the distance between it and her closing.

XXX

AK: Alright, so to get the timeline straight: the club thing happened Thursday, for the past two days since, Lexi's been… batty. Max drugged her (no roofies were used), and Dana and Terry have been separated for five years (since Lexi was ten/eleven). Read and Review, please. I do so love your critiques.


	6. Chapter 6

Lexi tried to take a step back and see it from her family's side. She had been a walking zombie lately. She hadn't even really bathed the past couple of days, which was disgusting in retrospect, and eating had been snack-sized only- and portable.

Logically, she knew she had to get some distance from the case...But the rest of her- the 85% that felt like ripping off heads and asking for nap time later- that part just wanted action.

The Monday following her sidelined suit declaration, she'd tried to help out in the Batcave with patrol, only for Max to shove her from the room with a stern warning her access was revoked until she was no longer "having a meltdown". Tuesday, she'd tried suggesting things to her father about the case, but he basically told her to stop trying to be Batgirl from outside the ring.

Wednesday, Lexi was pissed off at local news channels that declared the new Batgirl "dead. She wanted to rage but her mother told her to calm down and find her center. She came close to finding it after rearranging the face of a T who got frisky on the subway.

By Thursday, Lexi was foaming at the mouth. Okay, maybe not so...feral, but she had managed to snap at Angie, Harry and Stephen for close to nothing, terrify the school jocks out of her path, make "soul siblings" with the emo kids who sat in the shadow of the school, and get into a debate with her Calculus teacher about the amount of skin Julie was showing in her low rise skinny jeans and halter style top. Even Julie was speechless when Lexi threw down with Professor Gregor. Everyone who argued got sent to the vice principal, or given an afterschool detention. Lexi got the latter, forced to stay for the three hours on Friday after school.

The next day, as she threw everything from her locker into her backpack for the long weekend, it slammed on her. "Well, well, well… I hear you're a scary little brat this week."

Lexi whirled and shoved a finger in Leslie "Ruff" Hubbard's chest. "Fuck off, Hubbard." snarled Lexi.

Ruff sneered. "I dare you to mess with me, McGinnis. That trust fund doesn't buy instant respect from me."

Ruff was a meathead. Julie had called it the day he transferred in from Belarus High, with a chip on his shoulder and rumors to last a semester of gossip. "The boy's got something to prove, and a grudge against good people." the ombre haired girl prophesized.

Ruff made no qualms about hitting girls too, taking over the far south corridor and destroying the SIRENS who hung out there. The all-girl gang's leader, Sussie Quan, had sported a black eye and a crooked nose after their bout.

Lexi narrowed her eyes at the six-foot-eight wall of flesh and bad cologne. She could use an outlet, maybe one with feedback capabilities. She made a show of sizing him up and then snorted a laugh. "Not even worth it."

She slung her bag over her shoulder and sautered away.

"Hey!" Ruff roared as he stomped into her path.

Lexi simply sidestepped him and pushed through the double doors. Julie was there, sitting on the steps, waiting for her. No sign of Caden. Good, she thought.

"McGinnis!" Ruff wrenched her arm and started leading her away. She gave a token fight of it. "Julie! Help!"

Her friend stepped forward, only to think better and duck into the school for help. _Perfect._

Lexi tensed, digging her heels into the soft earth of the school gardens. When Ruff turned to do something, probably toss her over his shoulder, she struck hard and fast. A straight jab to the nose, surprised the brute and made him let go of her arm. Several- or a baker's dozen, who was counting?- to his gut made him bent slight. She brought two hands to the side of his head, holding him steady, and brought her knee to his face, HARD.

His muddy brown eyes widened as he groaned as lost consciousness. He keeled over on the toiled earth and Lexi smiled grimly over her prey. "Respect that, Leslie."

As she turned to leave, bag tucked solidly under her arm, she came face to face with a frowning Julie.

Her best friend stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, eyebrow raised, foot tapping an impatient rhythm.

"How much... did you see?" Lexi questioned.

"Enough. What the hell, Lexi?" Julie hissed.

Lexi misunderstood. "Don't worry, he's just unconscious. The blood's from the blows to the nose. Nothing's ruptured."

"Not that, fuckwad!" The venom in Julie's voice make Lexi look at her shocked. "You could have been seriously hurt! He's got two feet on you in size and more than a hundred in weight. You could have died."

Lexi slowly blinked. Actually, Lexi was five seven, now exactly a lightweight, what with all her gymnast muscle and midnight sulking, and had three black belts and a certificate in self-defense. "I'm fine."

"No you aren't! You're- you're self-destructive, you're angry with everyone around you for no reason, you hiss at people- Caden didn't even wait for you; he took off with Gina and Patty Brice for Club Nervo."

That stings, Lexi thought numbly. She sighed and stepped closer. "Julie-"

"No!" Julie exploded. "DO NOT 'Julie' me! You want to dish out all this anger? Well here's some for you. You are NOT my best friend!" Her words slapped Lexi in the face.

"My best friend is caring, she has fun, she's nice, dedicated. She puts others before her destructive need to fix the world. She helps people, she loves partying with us- whether it's a study party or a club party. She's not this- this destructive, hateful person who wants to pound a helpless idiot into the ground for no reason. She wouldn't do that…"

Lexi stood there, hands fisting. "Well, look where being passive got me! He came after me! My boyfriend apparently can't understand I'm having a bad week, and now, my former best friend is telling me I'm the bully here? I can't win, so fuck me for trying to get ahead, just a little in life!"

"This isn't getting ahead! This is scraping the bottom of a very deep trench." Julie sighed, a put out and finished kind of sound. "Is this really where you want to be. Banging heads in? Acting like a gangster?"

Lexi sneered. "It worked for you, didn't it?"

Julie tensed then jerkily nodded. "Okay then."

She stalked away, leaving Lexi to herself.

Alone again…

XXX

"Please, can you not reconsider?"

"Deputy Counsellor Brahm, this Board has decided against the continuation of this project."

Brahm closed his eyes as the grief washed over him. Staring at the semi-circle of screens, he knew there was no arguing. He was screwed. A dead man. Hopefully dead, he amended. Who knew what horrible things could happen if he did immediately die.

The little sociopath would melt his mind, or take sweet delight in having him disembowel himself as he felt every second… Just like those Cyclones.

He'd read the report, he'd sent a psychic cleaner after her to dampen the residue, and then hidden the report so that "Princess Cassidy" wouldn't be suspected. He'd done all he could to keep the Board from finding out- too have an ace to sway the vote in his initial favor.

It was all for naught. The sociopath had been caught on surveillance pulled from around the dock, gleefully twisting the mind of a Cyclone and using him as a speedbump for her amusement. The Board knew this, because the cleaner- a vacant clone without much thought- had submitted the tape with the report after switching it out with a reel of empty footage.

Brahm nodded shortly, and turned on his heel. "Permission to leave, Counsellors?"

A pause. "Granted." the head counsellor in the center screen replied ominously.

"Thank you." He left.

As he exited the secret meeting place, he merged with the crowd of civilians. He made his way past a strip of expensive stores and trendy beverage cafes, finally entering the nondescript one several blocks away. His meeting place with the mad doctor.

As he slid into the booth across from the man who held his life in his hands, he scanned the area for the sociopathic psychic. The cafe was quiet, scarce few patrons littering the counter, at some hipster couples enjoying themselves in the coming night surroundings.

"Coffee, Mister Brahm?" The scientist offered, raising a hand to flag down a waitress. The cafe was old-school, having human servers who skated around on wheels- what did his parents used to call it? A roller cafe.

"No thank you. I only came to deliver your severance pay and next assignment." Brahm sighed, hoping the man would see reason.

"Oh?" the scientist remarked. "What will happen to my daughter?"

"Project Mentus is being cancelled. Subject C will be placed in cryogenic storage until the Board decides what its material will be good for." The feeling of dread he'd felt at the pronouncement of the Board's decision grew to infinite size.

"So they will tear her apart? Molecule by molecule?"

"Possibly; the Board has not decided what Subject C will be used for. Perhaps she will be reinstated later…"

The scientist chuckled. "Deputy Counsellor Brahm, do you take me for a fool?"

Brahm started at the use of his title within the organization. How had he known? To most sponsored project teams- and all their assets- he was Liaison Brahm.

"I knew they wouldn't reconsider. The Board is very...scared of the public. Scared of the future of genetics. My daughter is the culmination of their worst fears- exposure and an agent that can think for itself."

"The Board did not request an _agent_, it commissioned a _weapon_." Brahm snapped.

"That's where they went wrong. The government, the Board… none of them understand my research. My _daughter_." The man muttered, suddenly becoming volatile.

"The Board has sponsored enough projects to create super soldiers in the past. They will not tolerate anymore failure." Brahm slid the envelope he'd been given by the Board Commissions Office across the table to him. "This is your new assignment."

The man sighed, a mirthless smile on his lips as he read the contents. "It seems everything to do with Project Mentus is expendable…"

Suddenly, the glass of the cafe window shattered as bullets rained from above. Patrons screamed, crying out as bystanders were killed in the flurry of bullets. Brahm barely noticed as the scientist rolled under the table to avoid the chaos. He barely had time to question the statement, before his own blood leaked from the side of temple, a bullet tearing through the gray matter and leaving him lifeless.

XXX

AK: This just got real. R&amp;R, please!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Last Resort

Maybe she should have rejected it. Maybe she should have used logic- or common sense. But that was ten minutes ago when she was pent up and angry at the world- suicidal even.

Now she just felt like curling up and dying. Black Canary- Dinah Laurel-Lockhart- stood over her, a frown of confusion on her face.

"Lexi, are you alright?" the seasoned Leaguer asked.

Lexi hissed in response, rolling to her knees to get up. A cool hand rested on her shoulder and she glanced up to see her childhood friend Eugene Queen. Gene helped her stand, saying nothing as she just leaned against him.

"Serves you right," sneered another voice. Lexi closed her eyes and tried to ignore Melodie Pratt's voice. The teen had been watching from the sidelines, predicting Lexi's failure. Lexi chalked it up to the sharp butterfly kick she'd delivered to her skull during their sparring match.

"Melodie, please…." Gene sighed.

But the wannabe hero/kick boxer sauntered closer. "Think you're hot stuff now?"

"Babe, can't you just take a chill pill?" Gene groaned at his girlfriend.

"No, she came in here, attitude raised-"

"Melodie." Dinah said. "Take a shower."

"But Canary-"

"Showers, now." Dinah reaffirmed. As the mouthy brunette went off to the locker room, Lexi spoke up. "You should have… let her get her pot shots in... I deserve it, I guess."

Dinah studied her for a second. "Gene, take her to my office. I'll get the first aid kit."

A few minutes later, Lexi was wincing under the sting of antiseptic. Gene frowned at her as she flinched away from the iodine. "You can take two jabs to the gut from meathead, but you cringe at iodine?"

"Call it a habit?" Lexi mirthlessly replied.

He wrapped her throbbing wrist, which was probably sprained from her cockily blocking Melodie's punch with one hand. Lexi didn't like the girl her childhood playmate chose to date, but she respected that the girl was damn good at heavy hitting blows.

Dinah leaned against her desk, arms crossed. She watched the procession silently. Even dressed in workout clothes, the fourth incarnation of Black Canary looked like a model- like an icon. Meanwhile, Lexi felt like shit warmed over. Probably looked like it too.

"Are you ready to talk now?" Dinah asked after Gene had gone off to find his hotheaded girlfriend.

Lexi sighed. "Dad told you, too."

"He wanted advice on how to handle this," she waved a hand at Lexi's battered state. "And I do have a master's in Psychology."

"Well, there's no need. I'm fine." Lexi groused.

Dinah canted a hip. "Oh, were you fine when you deliberately let Melodie clock you with that wide kick? Or were you okay when you didn't block her body blow, like I know you know how?"

Lexi sullenly didn't answer. She'd wanted the pain. Wanted something to force her thoughts away from her crumbling life.

The African American superhero sighed, resting a hand behind her on the desk. "Look Lexi, you and I both know you won't talk to me. I won't understand all of it, and I think you need this from a someone deep- not a hero outsider like me. So how about you shower, and catch a taxi to someone you can talk to."

"Like who?"

"Parents."

"No."

"Boyfriend?" Dinah suggested.

Lexi laughed humorlessly. "Apparently, we're not exclusive when I have a temper."

"Best friend?"

Lexi frowned. "I kind of blew up at her, and now she won't speak to me."

"What happened?"

Lexi hesitated. On the one hand, if she told her she would get advice, or the other hand she'd be outed for using too much force. She chanced it anyway.

Dinah let out a smooth whistle. "Six-foot-eight? You've fought splicers smaller than that."

"I know right, perfectly safe for me."

"But I can see where she's coming from. She doesn't know that you've taken down small fleets of mutant zombies in Cambodia, or that in your spare time you grapple with aspiring kick boxing champs. She's genuinely concerned because all she sees is her best friend acting like a self-destructive thug."

"He asked for it!" Lexi defended weakly.

"And there were less painful ways to deal with him. Less violent ways. Old Lexi's ways."

That quelled anything she had in rebuttal. Truthfully, a sharp elbow to his apex of shoulder and neck with just enough force could have left him unconscious and none the wiser. But Lexi had wanted blood.

Now said blood stained her favorite pair of jeggings. She swallowed thickly. "What do I do?"

"Apologize. Talk. Have a girl's day. Terry mentioned you were on probation. Enjoy it for a bit. One of the perks of being the sidekick- or partner as you prefer it- is that you're not on the clock twenty-four-seven. Get back in touch with reality, and let your dad handle this stuff for now." Dinah smiled.

Lexi nodded and stood, wincing at the pain in her thigh. "I think I have some major apologizing to do across the board." As she limped from the office, Dinah called her.

"And don't think you won't be punished for that excessive use of force next month, Lexi."

Lexi grimaced, but accepted it. Now she just had to get Julie to talk to her again. Somewhere deep inside, Lexi admitted she'd rather to the punishment than face a pissed off Julie.

XXX

Cassidy found her father in the alley behind Roller Bean. She approached on faint feet. His glazed eyes looked up at her. His stark white lab coat was stained with his own blood, in the shoulder and the thigh. The large pool under him indicated he'd bled a lot.

"Cassidy… Cassidy, my darling… You have to find them. The Board…"

"Don't call me Cassidy. Only the Prince can call me that." She cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"They… they have your prince, Cas- Princess."

Cassidy frowned. "I thought he escaped."

"They captured him, Princess. They're...planning to use him against you. To make him hurt you."

Cassidy shook her head. "He would never..."

"They would, Princess. They want to harm you, to make sure you never get your happily ever after... You have to find them first. Destroy them…"

Cassidy nodded shortly. "And you?"

Her father smiled contentedly. "I'm not going to survive long enough… You have to go…"

Cassidy understood. She placed a hand on his temple, smiling as he shivered violently for a moment, before slumping to lean back, dead.

Under the faint glow of neon and moonlight, she fled, following the psychic trail of Mister Brahm. The Board would pay… they would pay dearly.

XXX

AK: Yeah, she's pissed. And loose. R&amp;R, please!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Relief &amp; Revelations

Lexi rocked back on her heels as she stood in front of the Rogan household. She ran threw what she wanted to say in her head, a dozen times over. Apologies, excuses, promises to do better… She feared it sounded more like an ex-boyfriend trying to win back the love of a rom-com heroine than a heartfelt apology to a close friend for being a jerk.

The door opened and Julie glared at her from the doorway, backlit by the news channel on TV behind her.

"Hey… Julie-"

"What happened to your face?"

Lexi touched the slightly purplish bruise on her cheek and winced. "Oh… I went sparring." At a gym two cities away because I was too full of rage to actually start this talk earlier today, she silently added.

Her face darkened and she went to close the door. "Again? Why do I even care..."

"No wait!" Lexi shouted, grabbing the door.

Julie paused. "What?"

"I came…" Lexi sighed. "I came to talk… Can we talk?"

"I don't know. I'm a recovering violence-addict, I may break into an uncontrollable rage and- Oh wait, that's you."

Lexi lowered her head, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Julie… I just… Bobbie died and all these emotions… I just couldn't… Will you give me five minutes? I just want to apologize."

Julie frowned, a twist of her full lips that made Lexi sweat, but ultimately gave a short nod of acceptance. "Five minutes to state your case, McGinnis."

They moved from the doorway to Julie's bedroom upstairs, Lexi giving a passing greeting to Julie's older brother Jonas.

"Talk," Julie said falling back on her bed.

Lexi ran her uninjured hand through her long black hair. Where to start? "I'm so sorry, Julie. I should have never taken my feelings out on you." She dropped her hand to her side. "I just got so twisted and jaded- and so destructive… I forgot who I was. Like you said, I wasn't Lexi. I was… I was someone else entirely. Someone who didn't feel, or care… or want to feel or care."

Julie digested this for a moment. Finally she replied. "You were so angry, lexi. Where did all of that come from?"

Lexi threw up her hands. "Honestly? I think it was always there. Waiting, hoping, lurking under my skin, waiting for me to fall apart. Except I never fell apart until now. And then it got out and I wanted to deny it. I wanted to hide behind it, rather than talk to you about it- about anything."

Julie scoffed. "You could have talked to your parents, your godmother?"

Lexi shook her head. "Believe it or not, I wanted to talk to you- desperately- to tell you. But I was afraid… If you knew why I was acting this way… would you hate me?"

Her friend slowly blinked, before suddenly grabbing for her hands gently. "Lexi… You know you can tell me anything. I'd help you hide the body if you asked, girl."

Lexi laughed. If only… "I wasn't torn up with guilt when Bobbie got murdered… I was so relieved."

Julie looked confused. "Huh?"

"I was relieved- not excited, or happy. I didn't feel like dancing on her grave or throwing a party. But I was so relieved she was pronounced dead at the hospital." Lexi revealed.

"But you were…"

"The reason I felt so guilty was because I didn't feel guilty. I just couldn't muster up anything to feel other than relief and pity for her and- and that made me scared inside. I felt evil inside."

"So you lashed out at everyone else." Julie theorized.

"And I'm so sorry… I don't know why. But everything in me wanted to riot. I'm the good girl- little miss privileged- and there I was at the funeral of a classmate and all I could think was 'finally, she's done terrorizing people' and 'it's so sad she never found what she was looking for'. Nothing heartfelt like Mina, or profound like Sandra. No tears like her family. I was just ...relieved."

Julie sighed after a pregnant pause of melancholy silence. "And?"

"And?"

"What else?"

"That's it?" Julie cocked a brow. "That's all that made you act out? Damn, your savior complex is something fierce."

Lexi blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Lexi, contrary to whatever your dad may tell you, you are not an angel. You're a girl. Of course you don't feel regret for Bobbi's death. You didn't kill her, you didn't drive her to become a thug. You did the most. You're entitled to feel some relief at the burden being gone- it wasn't supposed to be yours in the first place." Julie pointed out. "Yeah, you're privileged, you have caring and devoted parents, you are a certified genius if the GATs are anything to go by, and you are a good person. You're amazing. You CANNOT, however, control people. She made her bed, let her lie in it. Bobbi never thanked you then, and I bet if we broke out the ouija board, she wouldn't now."

"I know but-"

"Lexi, seriously," Julie let go of her hands and reached of a pillow on her bed, "let it GO!" She punctuated the demand with a pillowed attack.

Lexi blinked and then dived for another pillow on the guest bed next to Julie's. "Fine!"

And the two dissolved into a pillow fight of epic proportions, even catching Jonas in the middle when he came to ask if Lexi was staying over before he ordered pizza.

Finally, they lay side to side on Julie's bed, giggling and half-heartedly slapping each other with pillows. The door opened again and Jonas stuck his head in. "You know, this would be any guy's wet dream." the college freshman chuckled, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "If it weren't for the fact that I'm related to one, and seen the other in training bras."

Both girls launched a pillows at him. "Pig." laughed Lexi.

"Oink, oink. This _pig_ came to tell you two the pizza's here." Jonas grinned.

"Besides, we are every guys dream." Julie added, sitting up on her knees.

"Excuse me while I barf. Now if it were Batgirl and Supergirl… Or even Batgirl and that Huntress chick…"

Another lobby of pillows pelted him out of the room. "That was totally disgusting."

Lexi nodded soundlessly, making a mental note to maybe make her Batgirl outfit more conservative. Maybe a nun's habit and some sweatpants….

Lexi spent the long weekend with Julie, before Tuesday made it mandatory she go home.

Standing at the door, she hesitated. Finally, after a forceful shove and grunt from Julie, she opened the door to find her mother hovering by it. Behind her were Max and her ada, each pensive and worried.

"Oh, Lexi..."

She shrugged and gave a half-smile. "Hey mom… I'm home."

Immediately she was enveloped in a hug to end all hugs.

"You had us so worried until you called last night."

She apologized. "I'm sorry, I just needed to knock my head around… But I'm better now." She glanced back at Julie and Jonas, who had graciously decided to drive them back (so he could ogle at Max). "Much better now."

XXXX

All around the lab system frames were cracked, wires sparked with live interrupted currents and men screamed as they experienced the most maddening of psychic seizures.

Cassidy stood over the head of the lab, frowning. "Where is HE?" she demanded.

The scientist, psychically crippled and pissing himself with no control over his bowel movements, whimpered pathetically under her outburst.

"I- I- I don't know… " He flinched when she curled a lock of hair around her finger, inducing a painful heat to rise from his gut to his chest. "P-Project Mentus-Deux- I mean, your Prince! He was moved… T-to another location… Shortly before you...were deemed… Expendable…"

"Where is HE?" she repeated.

"I s-swear, Princess- I-I would tell you-" He shrieked as his kneecaps bent inwards.

"You are all USELESS! Die in suffering." She growled. She made to turn, but he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Wait!"

Seeing her distaste at his touch, he recoiled. "T-the one who moved it- he mentioned the docks… Just please, end this… I beg you Princess."

She paused, and turned back to him. A moment of his whimpering and pitiful convulsions later, she turned back towards the exit with a smile. "But I owe you nothing."

XXX

AK: She's a stone cold psycho, ain't she?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Down Time &amp; Distress

Tuesday came, and Lexi and Julie were thick as thieves, sauntering down the halls of Hamilton Hills High. When Caden made a tentative approach to Lexi, she frowned and sidestepped his arms. "In your dreams, Young." she scoffed.

Ruff avoided eye contact and gave her wide berth every second he saw her. And the one point when he grazed her shoulder, he paled and scurried off, head down and shoulders tense. That was both odd and unnerving- but she knew it wouldn't last.

Lunch was a flurry of apologies and explanations punctuated by sandwich bites and sips of milk. In the end, they forgave her, and she almost cried when Harry sympathized, saying "I was glad too." She and Stephen then proceeded to tag-team scare off a vindictive Caden, flanked by sneering Brice sisters, who came seeking to "roost"- Stephen's term, not hers.

She was still on probation, so she took the opportunity to go hover-blading at the Central Rink- something she hadn't done since becoming Batgirl. Of course, Julie and the gang tagged along. They made it a competition- trying to outdo each other on the obstacle course. Angie won, and celebrated by showboating all the way to Korean Karaoke, where Stephen showed them what it meant to be a performer.

Lexi and the girls were still tearing at his ballad cover when they finally ate dinner at Grand View- Lexi's apology treat.

"I still can't believe you knocked Ruff unconscious, singlehandedly. What yoga classes do you take?" Angie awed.

Lexi blushed and waved it away. "When your family's rich, you get kidnapped. I take some martial arts classes in the down season so I can fend off the wannabe crooks."

Jared smirked. "Well you made that meathead shrivel up and cry from what the mathletes are saying." He was currently stirring a few french fries into his strawberry milkshake, getting them coated for consumption.

"I did not."

Julie hummed. "But you did break his nose. And now he won't even look at you."

Lexi felt kinda bad about that part, but otherwise laughed along with her friends. No more unhealthy guilt trips, McGinnis, she told herself. She was only human, she was due some growing room.

Wednesday, Lexi went after school to the Wayne Shelter- the first time since Bobbi died. Apparently, it spread through the delinquent grapevines that she KO'd Ruff. Sheldon "Steel" Branwen, the de-facto leader of the mechanics division of the shelter, nodded at her with respect. Chance Moody actually returned her afternoon greeting. Colby Rodburn, a former pickpocket, gave her back her missing sunglasses- a pair she remembered disappearing twelve weeks ago. It wasn't until she was giving the opening tutoring on College Algebra that someone- Josie Richards, a cliche gum-popping ex-Joker clown- raised her hand and said, "I don't get it. How'd you beat Ruffie?"

Lexi frowned, watching as her friend, a blond girl- another ex-Clown- bopped her behind her head. "Well… I'll show you."

Excitement buzzed in the room, anxious glances left and right. One guy even stood up and volunteered to be the test dummy. Lexi rolled her eyes. "But! Only if you guys can get at least Bs on the next practice exams. All of you need an 80% or higher. Capiche?"

A roar of acceptance followed and soon everyone was taking notes. Lexi made a mental note to find someone to potentially do the demo with following the next practice test.

XXX

Cassidy walked briskly through the maze of shipping crates and loading vehicles that littered the docks. Ships anchored near swayed with the water's motion in her peripheral view, but none held her attention. She broke her gaze for no mere whimsy. She followed the invisible trail her beloved prince left in his wake, coming to a stop before several armed guards.

"No trespassing." one barked at her shortly.

"Where is my prince?" Cassidy demanded.

They raised their guns and her and she raised one hand in response. Their fingers twisted gruesomely away from the triggers and they all fell in pain. As she walked up the plank she'd lowered telekinetically, more guards appeared. Two charged at her and she sent them barreling into their comrades without much preamble.

The same pattern cropped up as she followed the trail deeper into the ship. Finally, she came to a stasis tank, in which floated a humanoid form. Long blonde hair and pale skin were the most notable features on it- on him.

"My prince…" she breathed in awe. She reached out telepathically, desperately wanting to touch minds with him. She didn't touch other minds with her telepathy, though she knew how. Other minds did not interest her. Only her Prince's mind, did she want to see, to engage with, to fuse with her own.

"_My prince… You are my prince."_ she exclaimed in his mind through the link.

He lifted his head within the tank, pale eyes opening to meet hers. "_I am… alive…?"_ he asked in response. He looked around his confinements, breaking eye contact. "We are… alive?... This place... is real…?"

"Yes, my darling." Cassidy replied.

She stepped closer, pressing both hands on the glass, mentally urging him to meet her gaze fully.

The click of a cartridge met her ears and before she could react, bullet holes pierced the tank, two piercing her prince's skull, one grazing her shoulder and another lodging in her prince's heart.

Cassidy screamed in anguish, the sudden disconnect like a thousand fiery needles in her head. She whirled to see another guard by the door. She lunged for him with her mind and pulled him into the room before throwing him back against the wall.

"How dare you?!" she fumed. His gun slid to his side, useless to him, how that she had broken his fingers.

"Now, B Squad, now!" the guard roared into his headset before she could choke him.

Suddenly, a see-through containment box fell over her, trapping her. She released the guard in shock, confused. She banged both hands against the walls, trying to lift the box off of herself. The metal clamps that fastened the box to the ground held firm and she wailed in anguish. Small vents in the ground hissed open, releasing a gas into her prison.

The pale, silvery yellow mist at first had no effect on Cassidy. But then, she felt herself grow weaker. Almost at once, she fell to her knees, too weak to stand. Her powers, she realized, they were taking her powers.

She coughed and pushed at the wall feebly. Her brown locks dragged on the floor, her body too weak to hold itself up without her powers. She watched as more guards clamored in, all armed and grim looking. They rapped knuckles against her prison in malicious amusement.

"Fucking psycho-bitch," one guard muttered. "This nervo gas the higher labs cooked up is potent. Rip the psychic mojo out of you in seconds."

"How...dare...you?" panted Cassidy. She was a Princess. Fucking royalty!

The guard who had spoken sneered at her. "You're not so touch inside this box. And with your powers permanently dampened, you're a fucking easy target to pick off."

Cassidy used the most of her strength to take control of the gun in the guard's hands and had it shooting randomly at all of them until five were shot up beyond recognition, three were dead, and one was critically injured.

Then, she used another assault gun to break her prison. Weak but determined, she limped from the room, from the ship and from the docks. "My prince… my prince..." she wailed, uncaring for the bodies left dead on the waters.

XXXX

From the shadows, two figure watched as Subject C limped away, wounded and broken in spirit.

"Now what?" one asked the other.

The second figure shrugged. "Let the authorities handle it. She's too weak to be a threat to the Board now."

"This is far too messy to be covered up any way." the first agreed.

The second one chuckled. "It got messy when the little Princess decided to get the authorities involved with her massacre," he corrected, referring to her mass murder of the Cyclones.

"So now we wait."

"And when they corner her, we kill her. Simple."

XXXX

"Batman," Commissioner Silas Jamison greeted the Dark Knight of the future when he landed.

"Commissioner. You wanted to see me?" Batman replied. They were on top of the hospital,

"A call came in from a GothTeca subsidiary plant about a delayed ship from the port late tonight. Dock workers went looking for it, found dead unaccounted for guards on the ship. Two are barely alive but they're singing about some chick. Could be related to the Cyclone incident."

"And you want me to listen in?" Terry frowned behind the mask. "I could call in the Martians."

Jamison frowned. "We handle our own shit."

Batman didn't know why the commissioner was so averse to help from the Martians. They were the League's most powerful telepaths and honest individuals as far as evidence went. It had been a pain up the ass to just sneak Miss Martian by the cops and onto the murder scene.

"Fine, which room." Batman said, not about to put up with the bullshit of fighting him on this. Jamison rattled it off and left the roof.

Whatever beef Jamison had with Leaguers, Terry would delve into later. For now, he had a mystery to solve.

XXXX

AK: Silas Jamison will be explored in another story, if this one goes well. I'm thinking three more chapters before this is done. The next chapter will deal with Lexi's return to the suit and the overview of Project Mentus. As always, R I love hearing from fellow fanfic lovers.


	10. Chapter 10

AK: Warning Lexi-centric. I may need three chapters after this, or just one long epic chapter and a short epilogue chapter afterwards. I'll see how I'm feeling. We'll check in on Princess Psycho later.

Chapter 10: Brand New Night

"So tell me again how you became a legend, even in Star City." Gene asked in Lexi's ear.

Zigzagging through traffic on her Batgirl Cycle for the first time in two week, Lexi rolled her eyes at her childhood friend question. "Try and cheat me at poker again and I'll show you."

He laughed through the headset built into her suit's mask. "C'mon, just tell me. Inquiring minds are dying to know…"

Lexi scoffed. "I'm not helping you get street cred from three cities away. You have Pratt for that."

"She sends her love, by the way." Gene added. "So does Micah. He asked if you need him to pulverize Caden. What's that about?"

"We broke up."

Gene deliberately misunderstood. "You and Micah? Since when were you two a thing? I knew you had a thing for my brother."

"WHAT?!" Lexi swerved at that. She barely regained control as she boosted her bike above traffic. That sneaky little...

Lexi glanced at her scanner, which beeped with an alert on some activity, and she veered off to quell it. "Har-de-har-har, Queen. You know who I meant."

"But you didn't deny it." He paused. "Do you need Micah to break his leg? I can help too."

Lexi sighed. "You're like an annoying younger brother I swear. No need. I'm over him." And she was. The past two days of Young leering at her from afar and sending her texts had shown her she hadn't known what a clingy , two-faced bastard the guy actually was. Lexi couldn't find what it was about Caden that had attracted her in the first place. Another misspent seven months…

"Still… Just to be safe."

Batgirl dismounted from her Cycle on the roof ledge of a Lower Gotham building. "I can handle it myself, Queen. And tell Micah I don't appreciate his spying."

"Not spying when Julie posts about your epic diss at lunch today. I liked it, in case you were wondering. Melodie gave it a seven out of ten on the slushie heave. Said you should have used the soup."

"I like the soup," Lexi mumbled under her breath in response, activating her boosters so she could fly downwards towards the commotion. A robbery. Nothing major. "Disconnecting for a bit, Queen. BG, out."

With the link down, Batgirl sprung into action, knocking out one of the robbers with her landing. Springing off of him, she hit the closest one with a Batarang that knocked his laser pistol out of hand. "Okay, folks. The sign says closed. Do you guys even read?"

"It's Batgirl!" one shouted. "I thought she was dead."

"And I thought tonight would be a peaceful patrol." Batgirl crossed her arms over her chest. "Care to turn yourselves in and make my night?" The remaining three pulled guns. "Okay, then. I'll take that as a no."

Another one sneered. "We'll make her dead."

She cocked her head. "Really?" She sighed, readying two Batarangs, she threw both at the two in front of the truck. They dodged and chuckled at her supposed bad aim, only to realize one was a gas and the other a means to knock out their getaway driver.

"Get 'er!"

Batgirl smirked. "And I missed this?"

XXX

When Lexi came zooming into the Batcave an hour later, after wrapping up with the police and the robbers, she found her father hunched over the Batcomputer.

He was rewatching the interrogation from three nights ago.

"_I swear… We wuz paid tuh guard the rig… Just guard it..." the weasley survivor's voice pleaded. The guy had his right arm cast and his right leg in an elevated cast, a bruised cheek and wild eyes. Dirty blond hair was matted to his scalp and his weasley brown-green eyes darted from Commissioner Jamison to Detective Barlowe._

"_Then why were there traces of genetic chemicals on the scene?" Commissioner Jamison snarled._

"_I dunno!... It wuz a side job for me. Hired muscle to scare off competitors… This girl came in out of nowhere!... Bent my hand and leg into a pretzel and didn't look back. "_

"_So she touched you? Couldn't find any other prints on your clothes except yours, Stivinsky."_

_Stivinsky's voice rose. "That's cuz she didn't! She wuz a psychic- the move em with your mind type. Kept asking for a Prince or something. We didn't even get to fire before we went down." He swung around to stare wildly at Jamison at the fact._

"_What did this girl look like?" Detective Barlowe asked. _The middle aged woman looked calm, complacent, the opposite of Jamison.

"_S-she was petite, like one of them dolls my mother collects. L-long brown hair and big eyes- them eyes were soulless! S-she wore a pale dress- no shoes though. Fuckin' crazy bitch killed my friend Larry. Heard his screams before..." He swallowed thickly._

"_Why was she there? Who is Prince?"_

_The guy calmed at that. Sheets shuffled as he gesticulated with his only good arm. "We wuz paid to guard it. Not explore it. Only ever saw the outside… I swear, we didn't know anything that was on the ship. Thought the company called in the job."_

_Jamison leaned in close. "I think you know more than you're letting on. And I will put you in jail for withholding information."_

_Stivinsky lowered his head. "I want my lawyer then."_

Terry growled in frustration. "He clammed up the minute Jamison mentioned pressing charges for trespassing."

Lexi hummed from behind. "Probably has priors." Reaching over her father's shoulders, she took control of the interface, calling up police records and a photograph of the victim.

"I checked. There's nothing I can use against him. I've tried." Terry sighed.

She frowned, stifling a yawn. "Maybe he's closely connected with something else we can use."

"Max pitched that angle too." Terry dragged a hand down his face. "We're...working on it." He stood up from the chair. "It's just so frustrating."

"We'll get it." Lexi smiled ruefully.

Terry looked back at her. "Look who's mellowed out."

Lexi shrugged. "I've had a pretty good week."

"No more freak outs over what you can't control?" he asked.

"Other than the lack of season three to Spice and Wolf? I'm solid. I'm human. I promise, I'll keep my head screwed on tight." Lexi affirmed.

"Good."

"Good night, dad."

"Night Lex. The Dark Knight needs to make an appearance until sunrise."

"Ah, the perks of being a sidekick…" Lexi smirked, making her way up the stairs to the elevator.

XXX

Sunday brunch with Julie and the girls was uneventful, except for a stray "fan-gasm" over the reappearance of Batgirl. Lexi didn't even mind that, she just gave a noncommittal response when Angie gushed over Batgirl's singlehanded apprehension of the robbers from the night before.

"Dessert, ladies?" their uber-cute waiter asked, arching a brow sexily at Harry.

Harry didn't notice, or blatantly ignored, his flirting. "I'll have the chocolate cheesecake to-go. And a slice of the famous mud pie, for here." She flicked her long dark brown hair over one shoulder, back to reading the latest Roland Report on her tablet

"Angel's food cake for me." Angie ordered.

"Sweet rolls for me, the strawberry kind." Ricky grinned.

"Wanna split a sundae?" Julie asked, tapping one manicured finger on her selection.

"Sure." Lexi closed the menu. " One caramel dream sundae for here, and a triple layer crepe to go."

When the waiter left, Julie gave Lexi a look. Lexi shrugged. "My dad stayed up late yesterday, and the kitchen wear is on the fritz. Thought I'd spare him mom's leftover pancakes."

The table shuddered in consensus at Dana's cooking prowess. "The woman makes a mean ensemble, but her breakfast is deadly- especially reheated." Ricky wisely intoned.

"So, William West." Angie suddenly brought up.

"What about William West?" Julie smirked.

"He was talking about you on Friday." Angie revealed, looking at Lexi.

Lexi sputtered with her lemonade. "What? Julie?" It couldn't be her.

Angie slowly shook her head. "No, he said McGinnis. He was talking to his pals about how hot it was you took down Ruff."

William West was a hottie. He was collectively known as the hottest bad boy Hamilton Hills High had to offer. He was the tall, dark and handsome cliche girls never got tired of. He was also firmly against dating good girls, like Lexi. He preferred bad girls, like Julie.

"Okay…"

"Said you have hidden depth." Angie emphasized.

_I also have a hidden black belt in judo_, Lexi thought. "Okay…" Lexi couldn't really see where this was going.

"West wants to _explore _that depth."

"Get out!" Ricky gasped.

"Wanna rebound with the Wicked West?" Angie smirked.

She giggled. "As soon as I get that root canal I've been dreaming of. Dream on; I'm taking a leave of absence from dating, for now."

Angie launched a fry at her. "_You_ are no fun to live vicariously through." the matchmaking brunette pouted.

"Hey, why not try to set up Julie?" Lexi suggested, earning a solid smack to the shoulder from said tribute.

"Traitor!" hissed Julie.

They dissolved into eating desserts when they arrived, concluding with RIcky's moan of discomfort. "Too delicious… I'm ruined for every other cake…"

They paid the bill, and sat waiting for their cards back, conversation stilted by Harry's preoccupation with her phone now.

Lexi looked over at the sidewalk, watching pedestrians. A familiar and misplaced figure caught her attention.

Stivinsky sat on the curb in a wheelchair, eyes darting around as pedestrians wove around him, annoyed.

The waiter came back with their cards and tried to slip Harry his number. Enjoy your day, ladies." he responded shortly when Harry ignored him in favor of an update from Stephen.

Harry immediately stood. "I have to go. Stephen should be finishing his rehearsal soon. I better go before Helpful Hannah digs her helpful little claws into my man."

Lexi let her eyes get back to Stivinsky, who began to move up the street. "I better go too. Before, uh, dad decides to chance the pancakes."

She quickly slipped onto the sidewalk, trailing Stivinsky until the corner. There, a sleek black car waited for him. Cursing under her breath, Lexi pulled her loose hair into a knot and slipped shades over her eyes. She grabbed the nearest taxi, slamming the door shut as a business man tried to creep in after her.

"Hey!" he groused.

"Get the next one!" Lexi shouted. "Follow that car!" she instructed the cabbie.

"You got it, sweetheart."

XXX

Cassidy shivered, not from the cold but from the loss of connection to her power. Her powers…

They were nearly destroyed her. But when she was stronger, when she could feel her powers again, she would destroy them.

Cassidy smiled slightly in spite of her shivers. "Soon, my Prince… You will be avenged."

XXX

AK: The hardest- and longest- part is yet to come. As you can tell, Cassidy's identity beyond her Prince is fragmenting, culminating in her revenge. This is going to be an interesting fight scene. As always, R&amp;R! 3


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Warehouse Casing

Terry awoke to the ringing of his cell phone. "'Lo?" He grumbled. He was hungry, tired and sore from a fight with some two-bit gangsters the night before.

"Hey, Daddy!" Lexi's overly bright and perky voice replied.

"Ugh...Lex… No fair… I need sleep." Terry groaned at his daughter.

"I just called to tell you I'm _going to be late_ coming home. You _may_ have to eat Mom's pancakes." she emphasized key words. Snapping out of his sleep haze, he realized that she was speaking code.

No one ever ate Dana's pancakes. His wife's breakfast was like a Tour of Duty- you go through it once, and only that brave, stupid and the in-between do it again. "Okay…" he prompted.

"I'm going to see my friend at Gotham Memorial, you know, the one you broke her foot water skiing?"

Translation: Their lead, Stivinsky, now had a Bat-tail."

Terry grunted. "Just be home before four. Your mother's making roast."

Translation: Pull out if it get's too risky.

Lexi sighed. "_Okay."_

"Good. Also, I'm dipping into the emergency stash for breakfast." Terry hurriedly added before disconnecting.

"_No wait- Not my Frui-"_

Terry leaned back in bed, arms crossed behind his head. "I'm totally eating those Fruity Mix bars." he affirmed, shuddering at the thought of eating Dana's leftovers.

XXX

Rob Stivinsky thought he was slick. Fresh out of the hospital- discharged yesterday under the care of his sister, Annie- he'd called his contact to tell him the cops were onto them from a secure line.

He wasn't very high up in the Board chain of command. Hell, he was about as seasoned in this as that bland hospital food he'd been forced to eat.

He looked out the window as the car pulled to a stop before a dingy looking building. Two thugs squat in front of it, and nodded once at him.

"They're waiting for you inside," the driver, a behemoth of a man- black, wore a two piece suit and an earpiece- rumbled.

The guy never really spoke much other than the necessary communique, not a conversationalist in Rob's book. Maybe he was like that with new meat. But once he was in good, Behemoth and he would be chums, pals. The thought pacified the weasel as he wheeled himself out of the car and onto the sidewalk. He started for the door when Behemoth grabbed the handle of his chair and reached into his jacket's pocket. Extracting Rob's new phone- an early gift to himself- he replaced it in his own.

"No recording devices." Behemoth rumbled. He released Rob and let him wheel himself into the building. Rob didn't even notice that Behemoth didn't follow. He didn't notice the look that passed to the thugs who sat there. And he certainly never saw when Behemoth broke his phone in two and tossed its pieces onto the street.

"Driver 09, to base. The pawn is in position," he reported as he slid back into the car and rejoined traffic.

XXX

Lexi, in her Batgirl suit- stealth mode- crept in after Stivinsky, casting a backwards glance as the black car got ready to slip back into traffic.. Lexi frowned. Something inside her told her that following the car would yield more, but the larger part of her nagged that the guy wouldn't have disposed of Stivinsky's phone like that without sinister reasons.

Muttering under her breath, she back tracked and barely managed to slap a tracer on the oaf's shoes- a nice polished pair of Stallone's she noted (being a fashion model's daughter was good for these casual observation). She slipped back in, careful to make her steps light and keep to the shadows. Although there was an overcast in Lower Gotham- almost perpetually- the evening sun had yet to lower. A stray beam of sunlight could 86 her position. And her perp.

Finally, she was back to lurking in the shadows a few steps behind Stivinsky. He'd stopped in the center of the hollowed first floor. A small metal box sat on the middle.

Stivinsky rolled himself closer. A motion sensor beam shot from the box outward, sweeping over the building interior, narrowly missing Lexi as she put her gymnastic skills to the test dodging it.

When it finally stopped, the recorded voice played.

XXX

"Rob Stivinsky confirmed. Playing last message." the box mechanically reported.

Rob frowned as it hummed to life, playing a recording of the Fixer. Fixer was all he knew the mysterious liaison from the Board as.

He hadn't even gotten a name. But Rob had given him one, one that fit at the time, because he'd fixed Rob's problems. He'd waltzed into the Warf- a dive bar the seediest part of Lower Gotham, the part even the Jokerz didn't mess with- paid off Buddha, a malicious loan shark who made no bones with killing those who didn't pay. Of course that was after Rob promised to do some goon work for him, offloading secret shipments, scaring up "volunteers", and cleaning up after questionable messes left by Fixer's "associates" in the Board… After he'd proven himself for a month, Fixer had ended his servitude and extended a hand to join the Board.

He was fairly confident he'd proven himself. He hoped to make Fixer proud.

"Stivinsky." Fixer briskly acknowledged. "It has come to the Board's attention that you were less than successful on the initiation mission given to you. The Board hereby permanently your link to us." The rough brogue from his Scottish accent did nothing to disguise his distaste, in fact it enhanced it.

Rob paled. "N-no! You can't! Larry died in that thing, you hear me? My best friend died in that thing! You owe me!"

"Keep in mind, the Board owes you nothing. Further contact will be prohibited and impossible…" Fixer smirked in the holographic image, "without a ouija board, that is. Rest in peace, Stivinsky."

XXX

Unarming her stealth mode, Lexi acted fast. "Get down!" She growled as the image blinked out, the humming of the box intensifying the entire message.

This was a death trap. A sonic death trap.

Using her sonic pulse batarangs, she set up a perimeter of the around the box and set them to a competing frequency. They would only hold for so long; they were an experimental type Max was testing in the field for diversions and disruption.

Grabbing hold of the wheelchair, she roughly navigated it back to the front, only to find the two thugs waiting. Grimacing, she shoved Stivinsky back and brandished two batarangs in offense, dodging and blocking laser beams. "This is _beginning_ to feel like an _Olympic sport_!" She growled, throwing one projectile at the thug on the left, and another at the one on the right. Her aim was hasty but true, disarming them and leaving them open for a vault kick to the face, each. The two groaned as they collapsed, dead weight she really didn't need at that moment.

Grabbing her perp, she wheeled him to safety and then, dragged the thugs clear from the blast zone.

She looked back to see the building cave in, drawing the attention of the few passersby. The groaning of her three guys made her turn her attention back to them as she radioed the Batcave. "Call the Commissioner," she said by way of greeting. "I think someone is ready to talk."

XXX

AK: I was struggling with whether or not to kill Stivinsky. But I flipped a coin and he gets to live. So… Yeah, remember the Fixer. You'll meet him in another arc. As always, R&amp;R.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Short Lived Dreams

"So, why did you lie to the police?" Batman asked shortly after touching down on the rooftop.

The injured perp shrugged. "Thought it would give me an in with the Fixer. A way to not be a lozah."

Batgirl rolled her eyes. This guy was an all-around after-school public service announcement on bad decisions. "So what was on the ship, Stivinsky?"

He frowned. "Hey, I ain't nobody's snitch!"

Batman stared him down.

"Okay, okay… No sense in protecin' the guy now, anyways... I only know them as the Board. The Fixer, my contact and puppetmaster, didn't tell me what board they were.

"But I ain't an idiot, you know. I skimmed a few of their paper deliveries they had me do. Stuff from different companies. A little from Ludgers, a few from GothTech, some from Wayne-Powers…

"Most of it was snooze-ville. I could barely understand it. It looked like research papers, scientific journal entries and shit. Terms like 'DNA' and 'gestation' and 'cross-enhancement' were used every second. Hid a few copies away in case I needed em as bargaining chips. Looks like they planned to kill me regardless, though."

Batgirl frowned. Ludgers was a high end designer pharmaceutical company. They made stimulants and steroids for military purposes and experiments. "Where are those copies?"

"I hid 'em in a locker at the gym I own membership to. Never go, 'cept for once or twice with Larry- He died in the dock slaughter. My only friend. We were 'posed tah join the Board together… Become kings of Neo Gotham."

"Only this Fixer decided you were expendable."

Stivinsky lowered his head no sorrow. "I jus' wanted to be somebody… All my life, I wanted to make my family proud…"

Batgirl rested a surprisingly gentle hand on Stivinsky's shoulder. "You still can. Serve time and get out, then do something of worth with those security certificates of yours." At his surprised look, she cracked a hint of a smile. "I read up on you; your file at the precinct and a few recommendations from your instructors: you were a good guard who got a tough break."

Severa; years ago, Stivinsky had been a young and promising bodyguard with a security firm. A VIP client had been critically injured on his superior's watch and the blame was passed to the unsuspecting Stivinsky, getting him fired and a bad reputation in the only field he was good at. He could only get menial tasks after that, the shitty jobs no one wanted. Of course, further police investigation led to the discovery that that superior had been the VIP's ex, and had purposely overlooked the small bomb, not expecting a serious injury to occur. That didn't, however, clear Stivinsky's rep.

"I can do that…? Start ovah?"

Batgirl nodded. "You can, after you serve your time."

He looked down at his broken arm and leg. "I'll do it. For Larry, for him I'll do it."

XXX

"That had to be the most peaceful arrest we've ever had." Max commented as she watched the Bats trail in.

"He genuinely felt he had no other way." Lexi shrugged. "After the doctors cut him on braces, he'll be in with the rest of the prison crowd. For now, he's in the medical ward, under heavy guard."

"He gave us the locker combination for the gym on Third. I'll pick it up when I go back out." Terry informed Max.

"We should start looking into the Board. What are they the Board of, why they're in Neo Gotham?"

Lexi started to put her suit on standby mode, but Terry stopped her. "We've got a loose cannon of a psychic somewhere in Gotham, Lex. Keep the suit with you for now."

"Even at school?" Lexi thought about her over-exuberant Bat-crazy friends.

"Hey, I did it; and I managed to keep it a secret." Terry smirked.

"Try again, McGinnis." Max retorted from the Batcomputer.

Terry groaned. "The point is, we need to be ready whenever, wherever. Can you handle it? I know you've never had to be on Bat-alert during school."

Lexi stared down at the emblem on her chest- the violet icon of a bat beseeching her. "I can handle it."

XXX

It took four days before something more happened than just standby at school. It was Pool day for the girls in gym class, and Lexi was waiting for Harry to finish her lap so she could start. The guys had track day, and tomorrow they would switch.

Coach Rock was running a swimming relay. Three girls per team, one lap there and back then switch, and no headstarts (the last bit was for Gina Brice, who jumped in while her teammate was half way).

"Go...for it...Lex!" Harry cheered as Lexi dove in.

Lexi methodically paddled to the other end, trying to catch up to Swim Team ace, Lia McLeod. She wasn't a strong swimmer but she could pass. As Batgirl, she had air jets and water wings to help her navigate the waters, giving the illusion of a strong swimmer. She wished she had them now.

When Lia suddenly stopped in the water and just floated, Lexi pushed on, thinking it wa sa psyche out. Lia did that sometimes, them demolished her weaker opponents.

But when the heiress slapped a hand against the wall two minutes later and Lia still hadn't moved, staring at the sky in awe and confusion, Lexi looked up to see a girl standing above the guys on the track- levitating- and frowning.

"Crap," she muttered as she saw why Lia stopped.

Her younger brother, Donovan "Don" McLeod, was currently being ripped from the grasp of several guys by the force of something.

"Donovan!" Lia shuddered.

Thinking quick, Lexi was out of the pool and on her way to the locker room. She passed two girls- one of the Don's girlfriend- who were wheeling out the hose and a few life preservers. Inside the gym, she pulled the fire alarm. Evacuate the school and alert police, Lexi thought, going through a checklist

Lexi skidded into the empty locker room and padded to her locker, double time.

"I hate pulling my suit on wet." Lexi muttered, shimmying the garment on.

Quietly vacating the locker room, and knocking out the security cameras, she engaged her boosters and flew towards the scene-

In which the some of the girls on the roof had managed to get a life preserver around Don and were in a losing battle of tug of war with the psychic.

Immediately, Batgirl deployed tow flash batarangs at Levitating Lucy, and one at the hose connected to the life preserver. Don started dropping like a stone only for Batgirl to swoop in. Landing in the thick of the girls, she ordered, "Get clear! Go! Move it!" She shoved Don into his girlfriend's arms and kept shouting the evacuation.

"Lexi!" Julie called as she was swept away by the tide of people.

Lexi winced as she thought about the earful she'd get when this was over. "The job of a superhero…"

Returning her attention to the dazed psychic, she engaged her Bat-mic. "Batgirl to Cave, I think I found our loose cannon."

XXX

AK: Okay, this is going on longer than expected… I won't even try to predict the end. R&amp;R, as always.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Love, Drugs &amp; other Crazy Things

Batgirl growled as Levitating Lucy continued to be the floating menace over Hamilton Hills High. Even when Batman arrived, they only managed to push her back some. She was too strong a force on her own. They may need to call in Miss Martian...

Now, in the comfort of the manor, skimming over the pharmaceutical reports her father recovered- searching for clues to Levitating Lucy and the Board- Lexi found herself going back to the battle.

It was brief after Terry arrived, about ten minutes of her telekinetically throwing sports equipment at Batgirl and Batman. She almost speared Lexi with a javelin. The shot-put rain was probably the most dangerous part. Over and over again, she muttered about a "prince", a "castle" and the evil "knights" that would pay for defying their "princess".

Lexi was certain that she was the Fruit Loop from the dock slaughter, as well as the Cyclone slaughter.

After the battle, Lexi had had to slip into civilian mode and pretend to be trapped in the locker room by the automated security system to throw Julie off. Bugging the locker room security had been the easy part, it was fooling Julie that was hard. But she conceded to believe in her best friend, especially after footage was reviewed and Lexi had been shown to pull the fire alarm to get everyone out- and then was subsequently never seen emerging from the locker room. Score one for footage loops.

The reports Terry had recovered weren't much help, except with cornering GothTeca about the unmarked transport tank found at the scene, with a cloned material found left in it. The clone itself was gone without a trace. So far, Teca wasn't talking, but the reports- which the Bat team copied before handing over to police- exposed enough that even if they didn't sing, they were going down. Hard. Cloning full humans was still illegal and the material itself was stolen, so Teca was looking at a lot of legal work and 4.8 billion in charges alone. According to the small amount of genetic material recovered, the clone was bred to be a powerful psychic- like Levitating Lucy. Male, five months old but sixteen in appearance. That was all they could gather. But none of it lead to who the crazy psychic chick was, and how to stop her.

Lexi once again skimmed over the details of the report from Ludger Pharmaceuticals. It was a research paper on a revolutionary drug for increasing mental capacity temporarily. A designer mental steroid, if you will. If administered to patients with Alzheimer's, the patients would only temporarily regain full bodily functions and cognitive processes. The report had to be five years old now, debunked by the Scientific Board of America for being both dangerous and apparently useless. It only worked as a short term cure and even then, it couldn't be taken in excess.

Lexi sat up, inspired. "Dad, I have an idea!"

"What?" Terry said, looking up from some of the other reports.

"We can reverse engineer this drug for a window to collar her." Lexi waved the paper high.

Max looked up from her own readings. "Isn't that the Ludger Wonder Drug. That company took a big hit when their miracle cure for Alzheimer's blew up in their face."

"But what if it didn't!" Lexi stressed. "Come on, this Board or whatever wouldn't collect debunked science articles, would they?"

Max thought it over for a long moment. "Let me see that…" As a biochemical engineer and accredited geneticist, Max had a deeper understanding of chemical compounds than the teen crime fighter; Lexi was smart, but she wasn't biochemist smart.

Max scanned the documents with critical eyes. "You're... right! The formula is brilliant- groundbreaking. There are side effects, but I can make some adjustments with the muscle relaxer formula I was working on for Wayne-Powers… Give me a day- no, two days to synthesize a temporary power inhibitor."

"I'll call ahead to Bell Reave, get they to send a collar." Terry affirmed.

Lexi thought about how they would administer the drug. "I'll start gearing the suits. We may need flash grenades and a stun gun for this… also a few gassers… Lemme just give them the works…"

XXX

"Not strong enough… Not right now my Prince. I'll do better though… You will be reborn. And then, we will have our revenge on the Board for tearing us apart…" A pause. "Yes, I know… A proper mind to host you, my Prince… A good host for you… One you can easily destroy the mind of…" A longer pause. "We will be together...Always…"

XXX

"And we are free!" Julie exclaimed as they walked from the school two days after the Levitating Track Star incident.

Lexi chuckled at her bestie's declaration of freedom. It was only a half hour after noon.

Hamilton Hills and all other high school were placed on red alert in case Levitating Lucy came back- that meant half-days and indoor gym class. It also meant putting up with the guys and doing an indoor obstacle course.

"That gym course was torture..." Ricky groaned, as they trudged down the steps to the waiting car. Lexi's father insisted on assigning a driver to the group of friends to get them safely from school to home. Of course their parents were in "vehement agreement" (as Stephen lamented lyrically) and thus the chauffeur was commissioned.

Of course, Coach Ross barked at the girls to outshine the boys and "teach those maggots how a real lady kills an obstacle course". Of course, Patty Brice forgot her gym shoes, and ran (that's being generous) the course in ballet flats. Twice, her shoe had flown off and hit some unsuspecting people on the course- Angelo Saiz and the new goth girl, Raelyn Roth. Both had glared Patty into running the rest barefoot.

Sliding into the stretch black limo, the girls and Stephen, were smoothly transported to RIcky's house first. From there, Stephen was dropped off at theater practice, Harry along with him (for safety), and finally Julie. Angie's folks had decided to just keep the drama queen home (they were overprotective about this sort of thing), but Lexi managed to swing by and give the girl a quick synopsis of what happened.

Fifteen minutes later, Lexi wandered into the Batcave on the phone with Julie. "...uh-huh… Yeah, your brother's crush is so obvi… Mom thinks it's sweet but Dad's skeptical…"

Terry's head snapped up at the mention of him. He made a kill-it gesture and Lexi quickly signed off.

"Talk later, okay; I think the 'rent is about to send me on an errand of epic boredom and secrecy." Lexi bemoaned.

"Okay, talk later. Don't forget the Calculus assignment!"

"I never do!" Lexi shot back before hanging up. "So how's the drug synthesis coming?" she asked.

"Max called from Wayne Powers labs. The drug is good to go. Suit up." Terry replied, already on his way to get suited himself.

Lexi smirked. "Now we hunt for psychos."

"Be careful. It won't be like training with Miss Martian or Stargirl in the Base."

"Pulling the mask over her face, Lexi nodded solemnly, all traces of humor gone for a moment. "I understand. Nopunches pulled, no time-outs."

"Good, now let's ride."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Grave Stakes

You could say it was easy tracking down Levitating Lucy. Or you could say she ambushed the Grande Gotham Hotel, and totally lost it on the Bat crew (plus the Gotham PD special team).

Batgirl grit her teeth as an unseen force tried to crush her in its grip above the shattered chandelier of the Hotel ballroom. From behind her, three police issue flash grenades were thrown, shifting attention from her to the projectile for a moment. With that moment, Batgirl shut her eyes and free fell from the invisible hold.

Acrobatics came in handy and she deployed a grappling Batarang and skirted above the broken glass. Her suit was durable, but glass HURT!

Landing next to a specials officer, she nodded her thanks and threw a bolas at the schizophrenic psychic. Seriously, the girl was screw loose! She kept talking in her weird sugary sweet voice to something or someone. It could be an ear piece but Batgirl doubted it. She seemed a few screws loose.

"Batgirl, what the status on your supply?" Batman grunted through the headpiece in her mask.

"One vial broken, one loaded into the injector- one on standby. You?" she reported. Max had made six vials- three for each of them, in case of hazardous conditions.

"All vials broken." was his short reply.

Batgirl grit her teeth behind the mask. So it was down to her? The offensive, jab-her-with-it strategy didn't work, seeing as how she caught and choked them all the time… Maybe a long-range offense? She hoped those summers of watching Micah and Gene compete at the archery range in Neo Star City paid off.

Covertly watching the battle and waiting for a chance to strike her down, Batgirl noted that while most bullets pinged harmlessly from psycho psychic by a good three foot radius, others barely managed to graze her dirty white dress.

Hmm, she thought, dodging a volley of crates that the psychic lobbed at her and the three special officers around her. So her shields have a fail to them to. And with that one thought, Batgirl had a plan.

Crazy girl was currently trying to strangle a special forces member in the air as Batgirl took aim. Her suit immediately increase ocular systems to enhance her sniping. Hands steady and stretched in front of her, she locked on the the exposed line of Levitating Lucy's neck. "Time for a power out," she muttered under her breath as she pulled the trigger on her batarang, behind it launching the meta-sedative.

As predicted, the shield stopped the obvious batarang, but faltered on the small, unsuspecting dart-like bullet of the injector gun. It hit her neck precisely and Levitating Lucy gasped, dropping her "toy". She mumbled some more before curling into a ball around herself as slowly, she descended to the middle of the floor, long stringy brown hair resting in a matted mess around her.

"Alright folks, let's bag and tag her." Specials Officer Brien Orson grunted.

Mentally exhausted, Batgirl padded a few steps behind the officers who closed in around the defeated psychic.

Batman was checking the pulse of a fallen officer a few yards away, the other side of the ballroom basically. "That was easy," Batgirl radioed.

"Too easy," her partner and father amended. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, Orson's got the collar."

"I know, but that sedative shouldn't be fast acting- LOOK OUT!" She heard boosters engage.

Heard a crude remark from Richard Watson about the psychic needing a shrink.

Heard Tasha Jackson yell out a warning-

Suddenly, Batgirl was thrown back by the force of a psychic lash. Everyone around her was flying out of control, away from Levitating Lucy.

Batgirl let out a hard grunt as something caught her mid air, softening the impact against the reinforced walls of the ballroom.

Dazed, Batgirl looked behind her to see McAllister, one of the special officers beneath her, out cold. A rivulet of blood trickled down his moaned lightly, breathing shallow.

"You can't defeat me!" The psychic shrieked as she stood on staggering legs. "I am the PRINCESS!"

Batgirl rose slowly. Surveying the scene, she frowned. All officers in some state of disorientation, a couple tangled in the reception tables for some poor wedding that would have to be postponed. Her father was under a table with three officers on top of him. "You're no princess."

"WHAT?!" the crazy girl hissed.

Batgirl engaged her boosters and rocketed right at the psychic, knocking the wind out of her. Quickly she swiped the collar from an unconscious Orson and snapped it into place around the dazed psychic's neck. "You're a monster."

XXX

Sirens wailed as the special officers team vehicles loaded up the wounded and the unconscious, as well as Levitating Lucy, flanked by three guards from Bell Reave.

Agent McAllister was being fussed over by his partner, a stocky looking Hispanic decked out in Special officers uniform.

Batgirl and Batman watched from atop the Grande Gotham Hotel, out of the line of sight of the vid-copter that kept circling.

"Well, that was anticlimactic…" she suddenly declared.

Batman looked at her with one brow cocked up.

"Think about it: if it had been Green Arrow, or even Canary on this, it would have been way more exciting. Well, maybe just Canary… Long range shoot outs are not all that exciting after a while." Batgirl continued, stretching her arms over her head.

Batman frowned. "You know there's no guarantee that-"

She snorted. "I'm just kidding!" She called her Cycle as Batman called for the Batmobile. "I am way too awesome to be replaced on this. After all, who saved the day? Who collared that psycho menace? And who carried you up to the top of the building before Jamison could get too curious for his own good?"

"And who's ever so modest about it?" grumbled Batman.

Batgirl grinned. "Well, while you do stoicism and brooding darkness, I do fun and whimsy."

"Yeah, well, here's some whimsy for you: wash the original Batmobile and the Bat Exoskeleton this weekend. They're gathering dust."

Batgirl gasped. "Hey that's not fair!"

"Life's not fair."

As they sped back to the cave under the cover of night, Batgirl tried to talk him out of the punishment.

All in all, Batgirl was relieved. Gotham was safe for another night. She had properly put her demons to rest. And now all she had to do was weasel out of chores to go to the beach with Julie and the gang.

"And that's a job for Lexi, not Batgirl." the heiress behind the mask smirked to herself.

XXX

AK: Okay that fight was subpar at best. I'm really sorry. I'll try and deliver a better fight in the next installation.


End file.
